The Best Eggplant Patties

May 23, 2014

Today I want to be obnoxious and snobby.
So I labeled these patties as “the best”.
To be honest, I always think it’s very pretentious to name a recipe “the best” of anything.
Best means “of the most excellent or desirable type or quality”; so who can actually claim that something they’ve made is the best?
Unless you’re Daniel Boulud or Ferran Adrià, then you probably can. Running a bunch of Michelin starred restaurant grants some of sort of authority in that department.
But for the rest of us - commoner cooks - it’s better to take a more understated approach.
Something can be good, amazing, awesome, mouthwatering, but the best? That’s too much.
However, sometimes you make something and you just knock it outta of the park. Just like that.
And there’s no better way to describe what you’ve just made than “the best!”
This situation here is sort of the best eggplant patties I’ve ever had . Like, ever. So here we are with this super pretentious recipe title. Sorry folks.

Since we have already settle that they’re the best, let’s just get right to it, okay? No need to brag.
Eggplant, onion, garlic, cheese, almond meal and some herbs.
Wait, no eggs?
Nope, no need.
The patties hold together perfectly, trust me.
This means that if you are vegan (or have a vegan friend) you can sub the Dubliner cheese with vegan cheese. And voila’, “The Best Eggplant Patties” become “The Best Vegan Eggplant Patties”.
I know, I’m pretty bratty today.

These patties are very versatile (not only the best): great as an appetizer with a beer (or a glass of wine) or as a main meal with a good salad. Or, they can be a wonderful vegetarian burger alternative. I’m not sure about grilling them though...
Okay, it’s go time!

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large (preferable non-stick) skillet over medium-high heat, add onion and salt and saute’ for 5 minutes until translucent. Add garlic and saute’ for 1 further minute, until fragrant.
Finally add eggplant cubes and saute’ - stirring every now and then - until browned and soft, about 10 to 12 minutes.
Transfer to a large bowl and puree/mash with an immersion blender (you can also use a food processor or a blender to do this).
Add cheese, parsley, black pepper and stir until well combined.
Add breadcrumbs (or GF breadcrumbs or almond meal) ¼ cup at a time and mix with your hands until it reaches a firm consistency and will hold up as patties (you might need to use more or less almond meal).
Transfer mixture to the refrigerator for 20 minutes to allow the almond meal to suck up some of the moisture.
Take the bowl out of the refrigerator and with dampened hands form 8 medium size patties (or 4 larger ones).
Heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in the same skillet you used before over medium-high heat.
When sizzling, add patties (in batches if necessary) and cook for about 4 minutes on each side until browned.
Serve warm with some marinara sauce on the side.

Mmmm love eggplant. I also love that there's no egg in here as a binder. These look fantastic and crunchy and perfect with a glass of wine. I'm happy you're so enthusiastic about them because I don't want to read about "Eggplant Patties, they're just okay" -I'd much rather have "the best!" :)

It's not bragging when it's the best! Ever since I started eating mostly paleo, I've been looking for creative ways not to eat meat with every meal, and these veggie patties look like crispy perfection! These also seem like an ingenious way to have eggplant parmesan flavors without all the deep frying!

I am LOVING these! I never really know what to do with eggplant, other than plain grill it, make ratatouille, baba ganoush or eggplant parmesan. These patties look friggin' amazing, and I happen to have not one, not two but THREE eggplants sitting in the fridge. One of 'em just found its purpose!

You are such a snooty brat, Mike! But you know what? I would trust anything coming from you labeled as "the best". Yup, that's how the wolfpack rolls. No questions asked. You say it's the best? Then it's the best. And I'll beat up anyone who tries to disagree. Nice job man...and of course the photography is amazing!

I am totally a snooty brat David, I've been in denial up to know but it's about time I come clean.And since we're being honest here I think we should rename our wolfpack as "The Best Wolfpack!" Thoughts?

Hah, I label recipes 'the best' all the time. I guess I am a brat though, so that makes sense. These look delicious! I usually just saute eggplant rounds, so I'm happy to have something else to try with it!

I love the idea that these are sans eggs--what?--and can be made vegan--double what? I'm willing to buy your idea of "the best." And yeah, I don't use that term lightly, either. Thanks for sharing this!

I tried this recipe and once again loved it. I did cook them in the oven since I had trouble browning them. I cook with cast iron and they were sticking to the pan. I also had left over lemon yogurt sauce from the turkey burgers and decided to serve theses on a bed of spinach with the lemon sauce. Wonderful dinner!!!! Thanks...

These were really good! Thanks for the recipe! I did have some difficulty getting the "dough" to be firm enough to form into patties by hand, even after adding some extra almond meal and refrigerating them. I suppose it has to do with the size of the eggplant you start with. But rather than adding a ton more almond meal, I gave up on the patty idea and just used an ice cream scoop to drop them into the hot skillet, then flattened them slightly with a spatula--it worked surprisingly well! Perfect patty shapes and maybe even slightly easier than pre-forming patties. Next time I think I will also let the eggplant puree cool a bit before adding the cheese because it started to melt while I was stirring it all together. These were tasty and easy, and I will definitely be making this recipe again!

Amy, using the ice-cream scoop is a brilliant idea. I'm definitely going to try it myself and maybe even add it to the recipe directions as a suggestion.I love that you thought on your feet and came up with such a great solution. Awesome!

I also think that letting the eggplant puree cool a little bit is smart thing to do - although the cheese is supposed to melt in order to work as a binding agent.

These look so good, I will be making them shortly. Even if I never seem to be very lucky in my attempts to cook eggplant... Would you happen to know what quantity (in cups or other) of eggplant corresponds to one big eggplant? I see all eggplants of all sizes (and colors, some of them are a very bright and vivid purple, while other are deep dark purple colored...), I wouldn't know what is a medium or a big one...

These were delicious! I used the ice cream scoop idea and it worked perfectly. It was a #20 but these would be wonderful using a #50 to make little appetizers for a party. So easy to make and they can even stay nice and warm in the oven until guests arrive. So glad I found them!

MIke, I LOVE EGGPLANT...so I was super excited for this recipe...they are very tasty but mine came out very sticky in the middle and not like a patty....Any suggestions on what I can do to firm them up?

made these with a few tweaks: used thyme instead of parsley and parmesan instead of cheddar. they were great! I baked them in the oven for 30 minutes at around 370 degrees and they were still very soft when they came out (i was so hungry i didn't want to leave them longer) but firmed up after a couple of hours. so delicious and what a great way to use eggplant. thanks for the recipe

Made these for the first time today. The flavor is great but mine are very mushy in the middle. Any suggestions? Did I not add enough almond meal? How much almond meal do people usually use for this? I used probably 1 & 1/4 cup.

Ok, so I've figured out that you cannot eat these when they are piping hot out of the pan (or microwave when re-heating) because they will be mushy. But if you let them sit for a few minutes or longer they will start to firm up a bit. Very tasty!

Ummmm, I just made these for my whole family and they were the bomb-diggidy!! Thank you for this awesome recipe! Served it on Daves killer Good seed bread with veganaise tomato and avocodao. In heaven.

Made this tonight and they were very good, and are all gone!. My whole family enjoyed these. I used Tillamook sharp cheddar and guyree cheese. I also made a few with fresh jalapeno ring stuck in the center of the Pattie and those were most delicious as well. I also had some truffle salt so I put some salt on some of the parties which added another level of goodness. Will make this again and again. Thank you!

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